Up the ante

This does change things. In a previous article, I wrote about the coronavirus and China's military. Now we see China's military being used in the region Tim Pool was talking about. Russia has involved itself as well. Apparently, Putin is still upset that we funded and armed Ukraine and now he is letting us know. Iran is siding with China even though the coronavirus took out a lot of high ranking members of the Iranian government. Apparently, Iran's hatred toward us for supporting a monarch that died over 30 years ago is so intense that they will excuse the recent deaths caused by a virus that China unleashed upon the world. A monarch that a large portion of the Iranian population only knows from history books. However, I'm sure these same young Iranians wept over the deaths of their older relatives killed by the coronavirus that was a "gift" from their ally, China. The only thing that is incorrect is the "re-claiming" of Taiwan. The communist government in Beijing has no legitimate claim to Taiwan because Taiwan was never the property of the communist government. Taiwan has never been governed by the communist party in Beijing in any way. For China to say they are "re-claiming" Taiwan is the like the US "re-claiming" Brazil. China has no legitimate argument nor do they have a legitimate claim to Taiwan. This is just a bullying maneuver. They are attempting to see if they can get away with it. On the good guy side thanks to Australia for watching our back. The Australians have shown us they're good friends. I'm sure the South Korean navy has our back as well. North Korea leader Kim Jong Un is the x-factor. He has been described as "incapacitated". He is no friend to America. His death, if it occurs, maybe to our advantage. If he is incapacitated who is running North Korea? Let's see how this unfolds.

China Warns Citizens Living In Canada Against Consuming Legal Cannabis

The Chinese government has issued a warning to its citizens living in Canada after the country moved into the second phase of cannabis legalization last Thursday. A statement released by the Chinese consulate in Calgary stopped short of barring Chinese citizens from buying or consuming the drug, but did counsel them to “fully understand the harmfulness of cannabis products.”

They are very aware of the brutality of the Chinese government. Especially the courageous Hong Kong protesters whom I wish the best of luck.

China has seen a wave of Reefer Madness-like anti-cannabis hysteria arise, heightened by fears over the spillover effects of marijuana regulation in parts of the US and Canada.

Ever hear of Maoism? That is some frightening shit. It was so bad that people ate their dead relatives instead of burying them. Cannibalism. That is some psycho shit. I'll take cannabisism over cannibalism any day.

The country has not limited its outrage to foreign nations. A Communist Party-led campaign against the mafia has resulted in the shuttering of Shanghai nightlife venues. In Beijing, foreign bar and restaurant owners report having been surprised with urine tests to prove that they are free of cannabis and other drugs.

It must be quite a unique experience urinating at gunpoint.

The Chinese rejection of marijuana has even reached the ears of the White House. In June, an official from the China National Narcotics Control Commission told reporters that cannabis legalization in the US and Canada has led to a 25 percent spike in marijuana use in China. In that instance, President Donald Trump countered by saying China is responsible for “flooding” the United States with illegal fentanyl.

Hey Chicoms. Did you really think you were going to punk my country,the United States Of America? Guess again, bitches. Go Protesters.

Though Canada legalized marijuana last October, the country has been slowly phasing in the regulation of particular cannabis products. Last week, on the anniversary of that initial legalization legislation, new regulations for certain cannabis derivatives took effect, including those related to edibles, beverages, vapes, dabs, and topical products.

I don't want to sound like someone's dad but be careful with vapes.

Cannabis Consumers Face Harsh Penalties

Anybody that the Chicoms don't like is in deep shit if they are in China's jurisdiction. Captured protesters are not going to fare much better.

This week China cautioned its citizens against THC products in particular and bringing any cannabis back to the country in general. Earlier this summer, a Canadian man was arrested on drug charges in Yantai, the most recent in a string of people from the country who have found themselves in trouble in China for similar offenses.

Chinese citizens have good reason to heed their government when it comes to sending or bringing cannabis back home. The death penalty is the maximum sentence that can be handed down for trafficking illegal substances in China, and the country has not proven reluctant to hand down that harshest punishment of all. In fact, a Canadian citizen is currently facing execution after being convicted of conspiracy to smuggle 489 pounds of meth into the country.

The Chicoms have no problem executing disidents as well.Look at Tiananmen Square.

Should the government make good on that sentence (which is being appealed), it wouldn’t be the first time China executes a foreigner for trafficking illegal drugs. In 2014, the government put a Japanese man to death, as well as a Filipina courier whose family asked that her name stay out of the press in 2013, and Akmal Shaikh from Great Britain in 2009. Last year, a US college student was released after serving eight months in a Chinese prison on cannabis trafficking charges that turned out to be false.

Smart move,Chicoms. As long as that young American comes home in good health we can be reasonable. You don't want to fuck with Trump or the bald eagle will get you.

China’s no tolerance views on marijuana

China has no tolerance views on everything.

are surprising when regarded in the historical context. Earlier this year, researchers discovered ten ritual braziers in a western China tomb which constitute the earliest known evidence of cannabis being smoked. The vessels are thought to date from at least 2,500 years ago.

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Trump Tweets of ‘Signed Deal’ With Mexico to Control Migration, Lifts Threat of Tariffs

President Donald Trump on Friday evening took to Twitter to announce that a “signed agreement” has been reached that will see Mexico take additional actions to control migration through Mexico into the U.S. in exchange for a suspension of tariffs on goods from Mexico that were set to take effect on Monday.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
· 2h
I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico. The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended. Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to...


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
....stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border. This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States. Details of the agreement will be released shortly by the State Department. Thank you!

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The State Dept. released a joint declaration made by the U.S. and Mexico with this overview of both parties' commitments:

Mexican Enforcement Surge

Mexico will take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration, to include the deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico, giving priority to its southern border. Mexico is also taking decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks. Additionally, the United States and Mexico commit to strengthening bilateral cooperation, including information sharing and coordinated actions to better protect and secure our common border.

Migrant Protection Protocols

The United States will immediately expand the implementation of the existing Migrant Protection Protocols across its entire Southern Border. This means that those crossing the U.S. Southern Border to seek asylum will be rapidly returned to Mexico where they may await the adjudication of their asylum claims.

In response, Mexico will authorize the entrance of all of those individuals for humanitarian reasons, in compliance with its international obligations, while they await the adjudication of their asylum claims. Mexico will also offer jobs, healthcare, and education according to its principles.

The United States commits to work to accelerate the adjudication of asylum claims and to conclude removal proceedings as expeditiously as possible.

Further Actions

Both parties also agree that in the event the measures adopted do not have the expected results, they will take further actions. Therefore, the United States and Mexico will continue their discussions on the terms of additional understandings to address irregular migrant flows and asylum issues, to be completed and announced within 90 days, if necessary.

Ongoing Regional Strategy

The United States and Mexico reiterate their previous statement of December 18, 2018, that both countries recognize the strong links between promoting the development and economic growth in southern Mexico and the success of promoting prosperity, good governance and security in Central America. The United States and Mexico welcome the Comprehensive Development Plan launched by the Government of Mexico in concert with the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to promote these goals. The United States and Mexico will lead in working with regional and international partners to build a more prosperous and secure Central America to address the underlying causes of migration so that citizens of the region can build better lives for themselves and their families at home.

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FDA is seeking the public's input on marijuana rescheduling

In the last few days, nearly 700 people have submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supporting the rescheduling of marijuana.

The FDA opened the public comment period on Friday to gather input ahead of a United Nations meeting on global drug policy, where the U.S. representative will have the opportunity to cast a vote on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to reschedule cannabis, THC and CBD under international drug treaties.

So far, the federal agency has been flooded with comments that overwhelmingly endorse a cannabis reclassification. Support for the policy change has been nearly unanimous, but the reasoning behind those sentiments varied.

Dozens of submissions came from patients, many of whom complained about pharmaceuticals they’d been prescribed and felt cannabis was a more effective treatment option. One person who said he or she is a registered nurse sided with those patients and wrote “in my professional opinion, it is both harmful and unethical to prohibit patients access to this medicinal plant.”

Others pointed out that marijuana is not as harmful as other legal substances like alcohol and tobacco. Several people argued that prohibition is an infringement on civil liberties.

Military veterans were also strongly represented in the comments, with some saying cannabis has helped treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.

“I am a 59 y/o military veteran. I know first hand how effective a pain reliever cannabis can be,” one person wrote. “It is my strong opinion cannabis should be legal and regulated.”

Some brought a political angle to their comment. A self-described straight ticket Republican voter said he voted for Donald Trump in the last election, but that he will “endorse the next candidate who supports marijuana legalization.” Another person suggested that the president should legalize cannabis to troll liberals, delivering on an issue that is increasingly popular on a bipartisan basis.

“It’s draconian that you’re allowing states to arrest and charge people with felonies for a product that’s readily available in stores in other states,” someone wrote. “It also makes the federal government look completely inept because states have fully legalized starting in 2012. It’s been nearly a decade and there’s yet to be any sort of federal action.”

One of the only comments expressing opposition to loosening marijuana laws under international treaties relied on stoner stereotypes: “Cannabis makes you Dumb, Lazy, & Hungry !”

Taken as a whole, though, it’s clear that the public wants the U.S. to back marijuana reform when the issue comes up for a vote, which could happen later this month but might be delayed until a later UN meeting.

If adopted, the WHO recommendations wouldn’t change U.S. law—which classifies marijuana under the most restrictive category of Schedule I—or allow UN member states to legalize the sale of cannabis without violating international treaties. But approving WHO’s recommended changes would likely embolden more countries follow in the footsteps of Canada and Uruguay, which have legalized marijuana regardless of UN policy.

Expect more comments to flow in as the deadline, March 14, approaches. The last time the FDA solicited public input on cannabis rescheduling, more than 20,000 people made their voices heard.

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Anti-Americanism in Canada

Bald eagle versus beaver,guess who won
Canada and the United States are quite possibly the two most similar countries in the world. Their residents speak the same language, eat the same foods, watch the same TV shows, live in similar-looking cities, labour in the same industries and share the same basic values of work, family and friendship. But familiarity can also breed contempt and insecurity, and Canadians spend a lot of time trying to come up with reasons why they are not like Americans. Or, just as often, why Americans are worse.

Disliking, judging, teasing and even hating America sadly forms a central part of the Canadian identity, and is a bias that tends to run through most aspects of Canadian society and culture. For various reasons, the default position of a vast many Canadians is that America, Americans and American things are generally bad, and need to be opposed. These feelings are not always logical and consistent, and can certainly be hypocritical in practice, but they do exist, and understanding their important role in all aspects of Canadian culture is necessary to understand what makes Canadians Canadian.

Anti-Americanism in Canadian Politics

As two very similar countries, Canada and America obviously can learn a lot from studying one another. An idea that works in one country may be worth importing into the other, while an idea that fails in one will probably fail across the border, too. Canadian politics frequently embraces the latter principle to an extremely exaggerated degree, with America often being presented as a nation that is basically ruined beyond repair, and thus a country that Canada should be very careful to avoid copying.

Anti-Harper attack ad

During Canada's 2006 federal election, the Liberal Party ran attack ads blasting Conservative Leader Stephen Harper for being too "pro-American." Harper's team countered by denouncing the ads themselves as "American-style" gutter politics.
It’s exceedingly common for Canadian politicians to describe ideas they don’t like as being “American-style.” For example, someone who supports looser gun laws might be denounced as favouring an “American-style” approach to gun control. Someone who wants to tinker with Canadian medicare will be blasted for favouring “American-style” health care. A proposal for Canada to ditch the monarchy and become a republic would be condemned as ushering in “American-style” government.

The “American-style” slur is more commonly levelled at conservatives by liberals than vice versa, in part because it’s fashionable on the Canadian left to view Canada as a country defined by its embrace of progressivism, while seeing America’s flaws as the direct result of the country’s conservatism. But rare has been the party or politician who hasn’t found some occasion to accuse his opponent of being too “American” at one time or another — no matter how lame or forced the analogy may be.

Anti-Americanism in Canadian Pop Culture

A running trope in Canadian pop culture is comparing Americans to Canadians; a contrast that rarely has the Americans coming out well. If a Canadian character is witty, worldly, sophisticated and modern, you can count on the American character to be hickish, dumb, boorish and sheltered. Another favourite stereotype is the mythical ideal of the American who is woefully uniformed about Canada; some yahoo who expects to see dogsleds on every street corner and a beaver-skin hat on every head.

Rick Mercer
Rick Mercer in many ways embodies the ideal form of the Canadian anti-American: smart, sarcastic and savage in his commentary, but affable and easygoing in his personality.
In the early 2000s, the Molson Canadian beer company ran a number of hugely popular ads that played on this theme, showing cool Canadian guys striking back after being confronted by obnoxiously ignorant American douchebags. One particularly famous one, dubbed “the rant,” consisted of a cool guy aggressively comparing Canada to the U.S. (“I believe in diversity, not assimilation! Peacekeeping, not policing!”), before dramatically finishing with, “My name is Joe… and I AM CANADIAN!” The actor became a huge national star, and was even recruited by the Canadian Minister of Heritage to recite “the rant” at Canada Day festivities across the country.

Rick Mercer (b. 1969), now one of Canada’s biggest TV stars, similarly achieved his fame through a comedy series called “Talking to Americans.” As the title suggests, the show consisted of Mercer visiting American cities, microphone in hand, and asking the locals simple questions of Canadian trivia, or gauging their reactions to obviously made-up Canadian “facts,” with hilarious results.

As discussed in the Canadian pop culture chapter, made-in-Canada media is not tremendously popular, and most Canadians are fully capable of consuming (and relating to) American actors, characters and settings without much judgment or bias. But this can breed a kind of insecurity unto itself, and aggressive reminders of “why we’re better” in the forms of jokes, gags, cartoons and insults remain a popular cultural currency just the same.

Why are Canadians Anti-American?

Attempting to find a single root cause of the sometimes intense, sometimes subtle anti-Americanism in Canada is a complicated topic which many Canadians have written about at length. Generally, the most commonly held belief is that by vilifying America, Canadians are able to create a collective identity for themselves. Especially in an era where Canadians and Americans are becoming more similar in their lifestyles, language and culture, Canadians tend to focus on what they are not rather than what they are. We are not Americans. Therefore, we are Canadians.

The Walrus War of 1812 cover

The cover of the February 2012 edition of The Walrus, a left-leaning current affairs magazine, celebrates the bicentennial anniversary of the 1812 War without much subtlety.
There are also those who interpret Canada’s history as being one long struggle against “U.S. domination,” making anti-Americanism a sort of Canadian founding creed. Canadians partial to this perspective will view the United States as the single greatest threat to Canadian sovereignty, and a country that is always on the brink of conquering Canada — not just militarily, but culturally, politically and economically as well. Canadian history books usually make much of episodes like the War of 1812, the Fenian Raids and other instances where Americans were seen to be plotting the “annexation of Canada,” with the implication being that the sneaky Americans always look at Canada with hungry eyes. As mentioned, this also frequently manifests in the form of left-wing politicians and activists who fear what further American encroachment would mean for the future of Canadian progressive values and social programs.

While anti-American Canadians do tend to exaggerate the historical record, there is obviously some truth in these critiques. The tendency for Americans, especially American politicians, to either ignore or take Canada for granted has often been pronounced, and over the years there have been a number of American diplomatic slights against the country that have caused great offence. A typical example would be Rick Mercer’s revelation in 2000 that Vice President Al Gore (b. 1948) didn’t know the name of Canada’s capital, or a 2001 speech from President George W. Bush (b. 1946) that recited a long list of U.S. allies — but conspicuously omitted Canada.

Charter stain

During the Cold War, the United States often tested cruise missiles in the Canadian prairies. Upset over this, in 1983 a protester gained access to the national archives and dumped red paint on the Canadian constitution, permanently staining the country's most important document.

Lastly, one final explanation may be immigration. Though a lot of immigrants come to Canada for non-ideological reasons of employment, family, safety or convenience, there have always been more than a few immigrants who settle in Canada precisely because they don’t want to emigrate to the United States — historically, the world’s number one destination for North American migrants — due to some base dislike of American culture, politics or society. It should also be noted, however, that during the Vietnam War (1964-1973) and to a lesser extent the second Bush presidency (2001-2009), a large number of Americans emigrated to Canada because they themselves disliked some element of their home country.

Canadian-American Integration

Flag pinIn the end, however, Canada’s cultural anti-Americanism should not disguise the very real way that Canadians often casually or unconsciously think of themselves as Americans in day-to-day life. Most Canadians generally take it for granted that American studies or polls on topics like social behaviour, spending habits, family trends and personal psychology apply equally to their country, for example, and it’s very common to hear Canadians speak of “we North Americans” as one giant cultural group, in contrast to Europeans or Asians or other “real” foreigners. One of the great troubles of Canada’s entertainment industry, in fact, is that Canadians are almost too familiar and comfortable with American TV shows, music and movies (which barely seem foreign at all), meaning it’s often quite difficult for supposedly “distinctly Canadian” content to generate much public interest. To many, the phrase may even be an oxymoron.

A great struggle of Canadian existence is how to make peace with these two conflicting realities. How does one accept being very much like an American, but also hold a sense of pride in Canada, and the distinct sense of being something special and separate? It’s not a question with an easy answer.

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Why would we want to take your country over? Canada is mostly permafrost and even though it is a big country,like Russia,it has a cold climate that we don't have. True Canada produces agriculture but so do we. Not only that but most Canadian cities are on our border. In fact if Ottawa,the Canadian capital,were anymore south it would be just another American city. Same with Toronto. If Toronto Ontario Canada were anymore south in would be Toronto New York USA. Putting us down accomplishes nothing and we were the ones to save your asses from the Russians. In fact let's return the favor:

Kim Cube wants to upgrade his military planes

North Korea Wants To Buy Russia's Super Advanced Su-35 Fighter Jet

Zachary Keck
January 9, 2015

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un sent a special envoy to Moscow to ask Russia to sell him its most advanced fighter jets, South Korean and Russian media are reporting.

On Thursday, a senior South Korean military official told JoongAng Ilbo, a conservative South Korean daily newspaper, that North Korea officially asked Russia to sell it the Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet. Notably, the Russian state-owned ITAR-TASS news agency picked up the JoongAng Ilbo report on its website on Friday.

According to the original report, the request was made in November when Choe Ryong-hae, North Korea’s number two, traveled to Russia as Kim Jong-un’s special envoy. During the trip, Choe met with Vladimir Putin and gave the Russian president a letter from Kim.

“Choe Ryong-hae, who visited Moscow as a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in November last year, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets,” JoongAng Ilbo quoted the military source as saying. The source added that he didn’t believe Russia would consent to the sale because of international sanctions against North Korea.

As Dave Majumdar wrote in The National Interest last month, the Su-35 “is the most potent fighter currently in operation with the Russian Air Force. The powerful twin-engine fighter, which is an advanced derivative of the original Soviet-era Su-27, is high flying, fast and carries an enormous payload. That, combined with its advanced suite of avionics, makes the Su-35 an extremely dangerous foe to any U.S. fighter, with the exception of the stealthy Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.”

The 4++ generation fighter jet would be a substantial upgrade over the North Korean Air Force’s current arsenal, which mostly consists of outdated Chinese and Russian platforms like the MiG-21 and Su-25. North Korea purchased these aircraft from Russia in the waning days of the Soviet Union.

North Korea has long sought more modernized aircraft to compete with the South Korean and American fleets. However, as the military source told JoongAng Ilbo, “The North produces many weapons systems domestically, but it appears to have sought Russia’s help because building fighter jets requires more complex technologies.”

It’s not the first time that North Korea has gone abroad in search of more modernized fighters. Kim Jong-un’s father and predecessor, Kim Jong-Il, asked Russia to sell it advanced fighter aircraft during summits in 2001 and 2002. Kim Jong-Il returned to Moscow in 2011 to again ask Russia to sell it fighter jets. That same year, the former North Korean leader also traveled to Beijing to ask then-Chinese President Hu Jintao to sell North Korea J-10 and J-11 stealth fighters. Hu rejected the request.

Even if Russia won’t sell Pyongyang the Su-35, Moscow has shown an interest in strengthening ties to the Hermit Kingdom in recent months. Last month, a Kremlin spokesperson announced that Putin has invited Kim Jong-un to Moscow in May of this year to celebrate the 70 anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat. If Kim accepts the invitation, it would be his first trip abroad since taking over power in North Korea following his father’s death in late 2011.

Zachary Keck is the managing editor of The National Interest. You can find him on Twitter: @ZacharyKeck.

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I think the Russians are going to go for it. Putin is not a big Obama fan unlike the American left and I'm sure he would like to embarass Obama once more. When the sale goes down and Kim Cube gets the planes he is after the US and South Korea will have a lot to worry about.